Coldplay - Viva la Vida
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Music CD Cover
Artist: ColdplayEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-06-17
Music Label: Capitol
Soundtracks:
- Life In Technicolor
- Cemeteries Of London
- Lost!
- 42
- Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love
- Yes
- Viva La Vida
- Violet Hill
- Strawberry Swing
- Death And All His Friends
Free Music Notes for Viva la Vida
Free Music Review: I guess I'm finally an official Coldplay fan...
Hit: 5 Stars
The British pop-rock band "Coldplay" has been with us for awhile, but not too long. Within a few short albums and years however, they've become not only one of the most popular groups of all, current day, but each new LP brings not only joys in listening, but engenders more impatience for their next project among their growing fan base. While my main fave sort-of most similar band has always been "Oasis," and continues to remain so, if for no other reason than a more substantial body of work, "Coldplay" has been gaining ground. I can honestly say that, besides this particular album, every other song from their previous releases I've heard, makes me like them more and more.
In any event, anyone who has more of a listening and appreciation history with this band than me, will I think, love this and sales and media/Grammy exposure I guess, proves that. It is a bit of an evolution from previous efforts I hear, but the direction these guys seem to be going, only builds my anticipation of their next release, while I work on discovering and listening to their past.
On a recent "60-Minutes" story on the band, Chris Martin (lead singer/writer) explained that the band is always working on new material, and that the relative shortness of their albums, is intentional. As I remember it, his explanation was that they would rather put out new material more often than allow fans to wait, and wait, and wait. Which is all the case it seems for more and more bands these days, as they become more and more popular. So, while I am disappointed in the relatively short album length here, under 45 or so minutes of music, if they put out new albums like this more often, all the better. "Viva La Vida" is fantastic. As I'm discovering their previous material to be.
Whether the group is going in the "right" direction or "wrong" with this release, I'll leave to older fans who've liked/loved them from the beginning. Listening to their old stuff however, it's not all that different from this from my perspective, and I can't imagine any true fan of the band not liking this a whole lot. There isn't a bad song on this CD. Some cuts are more impressive than others, but all of them are great in their own way. Breaking this down track by track then, what follows are my general "newer fan" impressions after listening to the album several times.
1) "Life in Technicolor"
Fading in slowly with some cool "backwards" music sounds, but deliberately moving towards an ever more pulse-pounding and richer instrumental-only cut, with brief vocals, this is a great beginning. All of it relates to the album's title track "Viva La Vida," and while this opening track, in listening order blends into track 2 on the album, it seems to me that if a cut like this, mostly instrumental, could be added to most every other song, Coldplay could've easily made this whole CD twice as long. With great music like this, I doubt any fans would complain. While this cut and others may signal a move by the band towards more of a "U2" sound, while I'm not a super-fan of U2, I appreciate their overall body of work, and Coldplay only seems to enhance the genre in a more melodic and pleasing manner. For me at least.
2) "Cemeteries of London"
This track starts out sounding kind of like a Peter Gabriel effort, and that general drift seems apparent throughout. While starting out slow, this picks up speed, again sounding like U2 in many parts, but with a more substantial and rich background. The melody here is hardly present or memorable, despite the addition in parts of great backing choirs (from the lead singer, who else?). And while not one of the best songs on the album, it does fine for what it attempts to do.
3) "Lost"
The lack of melody is hardly absent here as might be so in the previous track. This cut has "hit song" all over it, and this is one of the best on the whole CD. It starts out with almost instant vocals, and the very strong melodies and various hooks and riffs. The plaintiff soul-searching lyrics and general spirit of this is simply amazing. There is also a great instrumental interruption near the end, sounding again like something U2, but also sounding a lot like Oasis. And that can't be bad.
4) "42"
A single piano introduces us to the melody and lyrics, but soon is enhanced by backing instrumentals, adding depth, especially when those same instrumentals blend with the singer's exact notes. Near the middle, this song changes directions abruptly, and drifts back again to a more harder Oasis/Radiohead sound, with only mixed results, for the softer beginning overshadows what mostly follows. Returning to the beginning slower, more contemplative structure, but only at the very end, doesn't help much, and this is one of the weaker efforts on this album overall. Still very good stuff however.
5) "Lovers in Japan"
I guess this semi-hit is, and will forever remain perhaps the most U2-sounding track on the entire CD, however, again, that is not to say anything negative about it. With full backing instrumentation, this is simply excellent, from start to finish. I'm not really sure what the heck the lyrics mean or are trying to mean here, even after listening to this several times, and even trying to discern meaning from the music video for this. But it doesn't matter; this track is surely a highlight of this album. I can only wonder why Coldplay doesn't extend their songs with more lengthy instrumental bridges within their work. They might then reach a more progressive-rock audience, yeah, all of us old aging Genesis/Yes/Pink Floyd hipsters.
6) "Yes"
This is the longest song on the album, and is basically presented in two very different parts. In the first, Chris Martin generally lowers his voice over rather simple chord progressions, but done within a darker mood, and violin and more substantial symphonic sounds add to the slide-guitar and other effects in a unique, but not entirely satisfying effort. This first half of the song generally sounds like something Peter Gabriel would put out or has already released. The second half is again heavily riff-driven U2 sounding, and instrumental for the most part, except for some background vocals which again follow the song's melody very closely, with intentionally obscure lyrics it seems.
7) "Viva La Vida"
The title track, and what an absolute joy it is! If one doesn't know Coldplay from the man in the moon, I'm sure most people will have already heard at least parts of this at one time in the recent past, since it is all over the radio, TV, etc. Needless to say, it fully deserves applause as the best cut on perhaps Coldplay's best album. The melody here is so strong, it puts other most current band's attempts at same, to shame. The lyrics are haunting, and I'll be looking soon for a longer "mix" of this song, somewhere on the net. An instant hit, this, and no surprise.
8) "Violet Hill"
Starts out very Pink Floyd-ish, but with a strong keyboards introduction, the vocals and then other instrumentals kick in (solid guitar riffs), and this is not only one of the highlights of the album, but is closest to a truly original Coldplay offering from my perspective. It is superb, if way too short, which is kind of a criticism I have of the band in general for me. This is probably the only song on the CD which doesn't resemble anything too strongly, which came before it as far as comparing it to other bands in my view, and from which Coldplay obviously takes its inspirations and influences from. A rather traditional chord progression is highlighted in the latter half by some nice guitar work, and a calming vocal end. As usual, the music video for this, like other previous and current band offerings, if you get a chance to see it, is great, and I'm so glad to see a newer group I have come to love (besides Oasis), put out such fine material, whether audio, visual, or both.
9) "Strawberry Swing"
One of the weaker, but still great cuts on this album, it reminds me of other favorite groups, too numerous to break down here, and while there really is no memorable lick or melody here, it's still a nice effort. Nothing to dislike here. It eventually seems to be a track which will continue one's interest in the group and this particular album, after one has listened to the obvious hits over and over. Nothing spectacular, but well worth listening to.
10) "Death and all His Friends"
No lengthy instrumental introductions here, this dives right into vocals, backed by some simple guitar and piano work. The piano picks up shortly and leads into more music than vocal, and in parts rises to levels which only make me wish for extended remixes, which may or may not exist as far as I know. Another semi-long song on the album, this has an abrupt change generally midway in to another song within one, and various themes call back to others in the work as a whole, and I guess is a pretty good last song, leaving me (and probably other countless) fans of the band, old or new, wanting more.
A long time ago, when I was discovering the band "Keane," someone suggested I give "Coldplay" a listen or two or three. After having heard this whole album, and remembering previous favorites from the band like "Yellow" and "Talk," I'm wondering nowadays exactly what I've been missing, and how many other of their previous songs I've liked while listening to the radio, but ones in which I never connected the songs to the name of the band.
I wish this Coldplay album was a lot longer, and the band in general more progressive, as it seems they, and this, want to be at times, but overall, this specific album is really a winner. At this point and in the near future, I will be checking out and listening to previous efforts with interest, especially non-hit album cuts, and while, as a rather new "fan" of this band, I have various nit-pix, all of this particular work, is a wonderful experience. Even the least cut here is still very good, and the hit or semi-hit tracks, are amazing.
Present day, be here now though, I can honestly say that I haven't heard anything yet from this band, which I haven't liked or loved, with no real duds. That is something which I can only say about some of my few all time favorite bands and performers, like Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Peter Gabriel's solo works, The Who, and so forth. Whether or not this work takes any drastic turns from their previous works, positive or negative, I cannot comment on really, being a relatively new devotee. But while most of this collection seems heavily U2/Oasis influenced to me on a surface level, U2 being a band I've only generally liked and Oasis more comfortable and familiar with, Coldplay seems to have really captured that general synergistic sound and mixed it with obtuse but pleasing doses from other, similar British Pop/Rock bands. And that is quite an achievement. I really haven't heard a song to this day from these guys. which I haven't liked however, and this is quite a trick.
A five-star listening effort if ever there was one, and I will not only be collecting previous material from the band, but will look forwards with great anticipation to their next album, as I guess all fans of the band, old or new, will be doing.
Viva la Vida Poster
Coldplay Photos
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To say there has been a lot of anticipation for Coldplay?s fourth album, Viva La Vida, is an understatement. Having enlisted legendary leftfield producer Brian Eno, borrowed their album title from a painting by renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and made tantalising remarks about sonic reinvention, the world has been curious (to say the least) to hear what the ?new? Coldplay might sound like. Viva La Vida definitely makes some departures from the band?s usual formula, which happens to be one of the most commercially successful rock-pop blueprints of recent years. The plangent chords, emotive melodies, stadium-rock rhythms and universal lyrical concerns remain, but Martin and co. have gone out on several limbs here, incorporating instrumental tracks ("Life In Technicolour"), using subtle North African and Latin elements ("Yes", "Strawberry Swing"), and overhauling previously strict verse-chorus-verse structures in favour of slightly more avant arrangements. The old Coldplay still shine through (see tracks like "Violet Hill" and the title song) but even their classic sound feels more muscular and confident. The band?s new flourishes, cosmetic and self-conscious as they may be, are enough to make Viva La Vida a welcome break from the old routine --Danny McKenna People en Español
Cuando Coldplay anunció con bombo y platillo que su cuarto disco, bajo el ambicioso título de Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, vendría acompañado de la producción de Brian Eno, dos escenarios se convertían en posibilidad: o se trataba de su peor álbum o la obra maestra de su carrera. Afortunadamente, la producción de Eno no lleva a la banda británica a imitar a U2 por ningún momento, y en cambio, el grupo liderado por Chris Martin presenta el mejor disco en su trayectoria, ofreciendo un sonido distinto, en el que por fin se alejan del pianito hartante de sus primeros tres álbumes y suenan como lo que siempre prometieron ser: una de las mejores bandas del mundo. "Life In Technicolor," "Viva la Vida," y sobre todo el tema "Lost!," representan a Coldplay en su momento cumbre. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español
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